Post by Deleted on May 4, 2017 13:40:01 GMT
President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order Thursday that could allow churches and other religious organizations to become more active politically, according to officials.
The order will direct the IRS to exercise "maximum enforcement discretion" over the Johnson Amendment, which prevents churches and other tax-exempt religious organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates. It will also provide "regulatory relief" for organizations that object on religious grounds to a provision in Obamacare that mandates employers provide certain health services, including coverage for contraception.
The order will declare that it is the policy of the Trump administration "to protect and vigorously promote religious liberty," according to a senior administration official.
Trump plans to sign the order and deliver remarks during an event at the White House Thursday marking the National Day of Prayer. The event will bring national religious leaders to the White House.
The order stops short of offering broad exceptions for groups to deny services based on religious grounds. An earlier version of the order, which had previously leaked to The Nation, would have provided sweeping legal protections for people to claim religious exemptions, provisions that civil liberties groups claimed would allow for discrimination against LGBT Americans.
The order Trump plans to sign Thursday is more modest in its scope. By directing the IRS to use its discretion in enforcing the Johnson Amendment, religious organizations are likely to escape punishment for backing political candidates. Religious leaders have argued the provision stifles their rights to free speech.
www.cnn.com/2017/05/03/politics/trump-religious-liberty-executive-order/
The order will direct the IRS to exercise "maximum enforcement discretion" over the Johnson Amendment, which prevents churches and other tax-exempt religious organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates. It will also provide "regulatory relief" for organizations that object on religious grounds to a provision in Obamacare that mandates employers provide certain health services, including coverage for contraception.
The order will declare that it is the policy of the Trump administration "to protect and vigorously promote religious liberty," according to a senior administration official.
Trump plans to sign the order and deliver remarks during an event at the White House Thursday marking the National Day of Prayer. The event will bring national religious leaders to the White House.
The order stops short of offering broad exceptions for groups to deny services based on religious grounds. An earlier version of the order, which had previously leaked to The Nation, would have provided sweeping legal protections for people to claim religious exemptions, provisions that civil liberties groups claimed would allow for discrimination against LGBT Americans.
The order Trump plans to sign Thursday is more modest in its scope. By directing the IRS to use its discretion in enforcing the Johnson Amendment, religious organizations are likely to escape punishment for backing political candidates. Religious leaders have argued the provision stifles their rights to free speech.
www.cnn.com/2017/05/03/politics/trump-religious-liberty-executive-order/